I Loved My Friend CHLARK VERSION
by Kelly6
Summary: Chlark of course. Same beginning as other story but completely different outcome. Chloe and Clark work out their feelings for each other and Chloe makes an important discovery.
1. Irony

If you're reading this, than you're probably aware of my little (okay, not so little) screw-up with this story before. Well, here's the Chlark version that I promised. Hope you enjoy.  
  
*Kelly*  
  
Author's note: This story takes place a right before heat. It's rated PG- 13 just because of a few naughty words.  
  
Disclaimer: Please don't sue!! I need what little money I have to pay for my therapy.  
  
*Please give me feedback. I want to know how to improve*  
  
"I loved my friend  
  
he went away from me.  
  
There's nothing more to say.  
  
This poem ends,  
  
soft as it began-  
  
I loved my friend."  
  
-Langston Hughes-  
  
Chloe sighed as she read through the page again. How ironic. Does the whole universe hate her? Or was it just her Literature teacher? It was just her luck that she gets assigned to dissect and analyze this particular poem only about a month or two after what she has begun to call the "prom incident", one of her bigger mistakes.  
  
She wondered if Clark had ever realized that she never actually wanted to be "just friends" that that was simply her way of masking her pain. She also wondered if he had ever felt the same way about her as she had felt about him; madly, deeply, hopelessly in love.  
  
"Miss Sullivan?" Chloe's head snapped up. "Miss Sullivan, do you know the answer?" Shit. Still in class. What were they talking about? She looked helplessly at Clark who, after first checking to make sure Mr. Bishop wasn't looking, mouthed the number 274.  
  
"Two hundred and seventy-four?" Mr. Bishop looked upset at having lost the chance to publicly humiliate her.  
  
"That is correct." He said through gritted teeth, his frown threatening to take over his face. Yes! Another point for the farm boy! She flashed him a thumbs-up sign and (what she hoped was) a brilliant smile. Then, she zoned back out as Mr. Bishop droned endlessly about the absolute value of inequalities. (How very exciting.)  
  
A period later, (Lunch, Chloe's favorite!) she slid her tray down in front of Clark and Pete. "I'm seriously considering doing an expose about this." She said pointing to the mound of discolored meat heaped onto her plate. "I can see the headline now, 'The Reason the Meat is a Mystery: What the Lunch Ladies Aren't Telling You about the Food They Serve.'"  
  
"Personally, I'd rather have it kept a mystery. If I knew what was in this, I doubt I could keep it down." Pete chimed in.  
  
Chloe turned to face her other friend. "So, what do you think, Clark?" She waited for his response for a moment before speaking again. "Clark?"  
  
Her efforts were in vain and she had a feeling that was because of a certain raven-haired beauty. She followed his gaze and, sure enough, there was Lana -the girl Clark's pined for ever since he stopped thinking girls had cooties. "Clark?" Nothing. "Clark, Pete really likes you and he wants to have hot sweaty sex in the backseat of your truck." That earned her a playful smack from Pete, but she still got no response from Clark; that boy was hopeless. Clark finally returned from Lana Land and caught sight of his two friends staring at him, obviously annoyed. He blushed furiously, his face a deep crimson, when he realized that he had been daydreaming, yet again. This one had seemed so real, though.  
  
He and Chloe had been working late at the Torch when, all of a sudden, he had a lap-full of Chloe. He leaned in toward her, lips poised and-  
  
"Clark?" But alas, it was only a dream; a wonderful dream, but just a dream, nonetheless. Chloe seemed a little angry with him; she hated it when her audience wasn't a captive one. He wondered if she would be as angry if she knew it was her he was dreaming about, before mentally kicking himself. 'Yes! Remember, genius? She wants to be just friends, I think she made that abundantly clear the day of the prom' Oh well, a boy could dream.  
  
He joined in their conversation, staring at Chloe the whole time, thinking how beautiful she was. She was especially beautiful when she was excited about something, like how she was now. He loved the way her eyes glimmered, the way her hair bounced when she chattered excitedly, and the way she smiled that perfect, perky, energetic smile that melted his heart and made him feel compelled to smile back. He loved everything about her. He loved her. He only wished she felt the same way. 


	2. The hard way

Author's note: This has a lot of dialogue in it. Sorry, but I just love to talk.  
  
The sun had set hours ago and Chloe was still in front of her teal I-Mac, typing furiously away, as was the norm for the day before the Torch was printed. She was scrambling to edit and layout the paper before her deadline passed when her cell phone rang. She jumped about a foot in the air. Her nerves were on end and she was chock-full of caffeine -she had been up late last night working on the Torch too- and that was never a good combination. She reached over and pulled a tiny orange phone out of her purse.  
  
"What?" She snapped impatiently.  
  
"Is that how you usually answer your cell, or do you save the pleasantries just for me?"  
  
"Lex? Why are you calling me?"  
  
"How very nice to hear from you, too. If you must know, I wanted to speak with Clark. I called his house, but his parents said that they didn't know where he was. I just assumed he was with you."  
  
"And you jumped to this assumption because?"  
  
"Because he's been with you for the past month straight. So can I talk to him or not?"  
  
"I'm sorry, Mr. Luthor, but I haven't seen him since school let out. Why don't you get into a life-threatening situation? He's bound to show up then."  
  
"I think I'll save that as my last resort, but thank you anyway, Miss Sullivan."  
  
"Anytime." And with that she continued typing. But now that she thought about it, where was Clark? If he wasn't home yet, where could he be? Maybe she'd just make a few calls, just to set her mind at ease.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Pete, have you seen Clark?"  
  
"Nope, he pulled another one of his famous disappearing acts. I swear he's going to be the next Houdini."  
  
"Do you have any clue where he would be?"  
  
"None whatsoever. Sorry I wasn't more help."  
  
"That's okay, bye."  
  
She dialed Lana's number and received basically the same answers. Where was that boy? Now she was getting nervous. She shut off her computer and grabbed her purse. She was going to pay a little visit to the Kent farm. Hopefully, Clark was home by now.  
  
Chloe's little orange Volkswagon beetle pulled in front of the pleasant little two-story home where her best friend lived. She got out of the car and walked up the front steps and onto the porch and was just about to ring the bell when she heard two voices -Mr. and Mrs. Kent- arguing.  
  
"Clark's a good boy, he'll be home soon." That was Mrs. Kent. Chloe loved Martha; she had been more of a mother to her than her real mother ever was.  
  
"What if he's in trouble?" Chloe knew that it was wrong to eavesdrop, but she just couldn't help it. She blamed it on those damn reporter instincts.  
  
"You know as well as I do that he can't get hurt." Huh? How was that? Now she was confused; she knew Clark was strong, but it's not like he's invincible. She pressed her ear against the door; she just had to figure this out.  
  
"Not if there are meteor rocks, you know what those do to him." Was Clark a meteor freak? No, not her Clark, he couldn't be.  
  
"Maybe we should look for him, then." Uh-oh, the voices were getting closer to the door; time to pretend that she hadn't been standing there the whole time, listening to their conversation. She backed down the steps, and then walked right back up them. Just as she neared the door, the Kent's popped out.  
  
"Hi!" She said, trying to sound as cheery as possible. She needed to seem clueless as to what was going on. "Is Clark home? I had to ask him something."  
  
Jonathan was the one to answer. "No, not yet. We were just on our way to pick him up." That wasn't an outright lie, but that wasn't entirely the truth either. What were they hiding? She needed to pry a little more to find out.  
  
"Oh really? Where is he? I haven't seen him in a while." Let's see what they say to that.  
  
"He's at Lex's." Jonathan replied with little hesitation. Now THAT was an utter lie. Now she had to know what they were keeping from her.  
  
Chloe shot them a sunny smile "Oh, okay. Just tell him I want to see him." She then strolled happily down to her car and drove away.  
  
Once she was done, Jonathan heaved a sigh of relief. He felt bad lying to the little blonde girl, but what she doesn't know, won't hurt her. He turned to face his wife. "I think it's about time we started looking."  
  
Chloe pulled her bug into the woods a little bit away from the exit of the farm and turned the lights off. Her mind was spinning; why were the Kent's lying to her about Clark? She of all people might have been the best one to find him. Now she had to do this the hard way. 


	3. To Tell The Truth

Author's note: Thanks for bearing with me on this one. I finally am getting to write and post the original version. I'm actually kinda glad I screwed up. It should be interesting to see how I'll make two completely different stories starting with the same two chapters. It really is fun. Keep up the reviews. Oh, and to all of you who reviewed, thanks! I love you guys!  
  
Not too long after she had shut her lights off, a red truck came barreling by. She quickly turned her lights back on, dimly of course, and was right on their trail. 'They must have figured out where he is, they seem to know where they're going.' She mused to herself as she barreled right after them on the dusty paths. After a few more minutes, she recognized where they were going. Of course! Those stupid caves Clark is so obsessed with! He's got to be there!  
  
She pulled in; a safe distance behind the Kent's and killed the engine. She ran towards the back entrance that Clark had shown her only days before. She climbed down the rocky incline and made it into the cave. But not before deducing that high-heeled boots and an unusually short (well, for Chloe anyway) skirt were not the best apparel for performing search and rescues. She scoffed at herself for that. Clark is never the one that needs to be rescued; he's the hero, the one doing the saving. Now that she thought about it, she couldn't remember him ever being sick, not once. Maybe he really was a meteor mutant. She shook her head as if that would somehow force those thoughts to flee. No. Not my Clark. He couldn't be. He would have told me.  
  
That's when she saw him, lying in a heap of flannel and blue jeans on the cave floor. She rushed over to him. "Clark! Clark! Don't die on me damn it!" She checked his heartbeat; barely there, breathing; ragged and forced. "C'mon Clark."  
  
He winced with pain and cocked one eye open, looking at her. "Chloe?" He asked, bemused. "Help me." He pleaded.  
  
What was hurting him? "How?" She demanded; he couldn't die on her, there was so much she still had to tell him.  
  
"Just get the meteors off me. There was a cave collapse, I tried to stop it, I really did, but then the meteors came down."  
  
She obliged, taking off the small, glowing, green stones and throwing them as far as she could. The change was imminent. His breathing and heartbeat steadied immediately, and his complexion went back to normal instead of the grayish-green color it was only moments before. "Okay, Clark, now what the hell was that?" He was going to answer her but was interrupted.  
  
"Clark! Chloe?! What are you doing here?" Chloe blanched, she was found out. That was fine, as long as Clark was all right. She had saved Clark, now there was a role reversal.  
  
"I just wanted to check here for Clark before I went home. Just to set my mind at ease." That was a half-truth.  
  
"But we told you he was at Lex's." Jonathan looked mad.  
  
"You lied." She said simply and Mr. Kent could think of no retort so he simply kept his mouth shut. "Which brings me to my next question, if you knew Clark could possibly have been hurt -which he was, by the way- than why didn't you tell me? I am, after all, the reporter, the one that's good at finding things." The Kent's looked at each other and realized that there was no way they could make up an excuse for this.  
  
Martha was the fist to respond. "I think Clark should handle this." With that she smiled and nodded knowingly at Clark, grabbed Jonathan and pulled him out of the cave.  
  
Clark fidgeted nervously and looked up at Chloe. "I guess it's time for the truth, huh?"  
Hee hee, a cliff hanger. Aren't I mean?  
  
*Kelly* 


	4. Would some Benadryl help?

Author's Note: Sorry about the delay. I've either been really sick or really busy for the last few weeks. Also, I must admit, I didn't really have a plot figured out yet so that added to the wait, but now I've got it. By the way, this is in Chloe's POV. As always, I beg you to review.  
  
Clark just kept fidgeting nervously and staring at his foot so he could avoid looking me in the eye. I finally grew tired of just staring at him, waiting for him to speak, so I spoke first. "I know your shoe is probably fascinating, but could you please tell me what your parents want you to confess?"  
  
He looked up at me guiltily, as though caught with his hand stuck in the cookie jar and finally said, "I have something that I never told you."  
  
God, he's being melodramatic. "Yes, I am aware of that. That's what you're going to tell me now, right?"  
  
Why does he look so nervous? Now I'm reverting back to my original fear that he's a meteor freak. Please, God, don't let him be. Why do all the cute ones have to be meteor freaks? I hate this town. Wait, he's looking at me expectantly. I think he just told me. Don't tell me that I was so busy rambling on in my head that I missed the confession. I look him in the eyes and smile, embarrassed -I don't think my cheeks could get much redder- and ask, "Could you please repeat that? I didn't catch what you said."  
  
He hesitates and then says, "I'm allergic to meteor rocks." That's it??? That's the big confession??? Why was he so nervous about that??? I break out of my thoughts and see him staring at me funny. That's when I realize that I had just said that out loud. Oops. On closer inspection, he seems relieved at how I've taken the news. "You don't think I'm a freak?" He asked hopefully.  
  
"No more than I already did." I reply with a smile. "Come on; let's go find your parents." He smiles back with all his heart and we link arms and exit the cave.  
  
************ Author's Note: I know, I know, it's REALLY short. But that's why I posted the next chapter too. Don't forget to review. (hint, hint) 


	5. Boy scouts and ax murderers

Author's note: I didn't like how this flowed with the rest of the story so I changed it. (Just the ending, the rest is still the same.) Oh, and by the way, REVIEW!!!!!!!!  
  
Chloe and Clark walked slowly, arms still linked, out of the cave. Chloe was ecstatic; Clark had just told her something that he obviously didn't tell many people; and with Clark that means a lot. They strolled up to the waiting Kent's and Jonathan spoke up. "You took that well."  
  
Chloe shook her head slightly. Were all the Kent's drama queens? "Well, it really isn't that big of a deal. I mean, I'm a little upset you didn't tell me sooner but I'm okay. Like I said, it's really not that big of a deal."  
  
Martha smiled warmly at the petite blonde in front of her; she knew there was a reason why she liked Chloe so much, she was so open-minded; Lana would have freaked out by now. She saw her husband smile warmly also before he spoke up again. "You took that a lot better than Pete did."  
  
'Why did Pete make a big deal out of something so stupid?' Chloe thought to herself. Then she heard the motherly voice of Martha. "See, Jonathan, I told you she wasn't going to go write an article on her best friend the alien." What was that??!! ALIEN????!! Is that what Clark's been hiding all these years? Right as she heard the words come out of Mrs. Kent's mouth, she saw Clark do what he thought was a subtle gesture telling her not to say anything. But it was too late; Chloe had already heard it.  
  
She barely choked out the words through the lump that was rising in her throat. Her eyes were steadily becoming more and more blurry. She was going to cry. She can't let them see her like this. "Well, it's been fun, I gotta go!" She yelled behind her shoulder as she ran like all hell towards her car. She knew Clark had seen the twin streams of tears flow down her cheeks but she didn't care. She just wanted to get away from him. Right before she revved the engine, she heard Clark shout, "Wait!! Chloe!! Come back!!" But she didn't listen; she just wanted to get away from him. She zoomed off, sending dust flying all over Clark as he ran to stop her.  
  
She couldn't believe it. How could Clark do that to her? Not only had he told Pete before her, but he wasn't even going to tell her. If Martha hadn't slipped up, she still would have been in the dark. And if that wasn't enough, he was given a chance to tell her the truth straight out but he didn't take it; instead he lied right to her face. She wondered how many other times he had lied to her, simply because he didn't trust her. That stung. She couldn't give two flying fucks about the fact that he wasn't from this planet. What she cared about the most was that he didn't trust her enough to tell her.  
  
She slammed on the brakes. There was something in front of her car. "Great," She muttered to herself. "With my luck it'll be an ax-murderer or something." Once she close enough to see who it was, she gasped. How could he have gotten there that fast? She left a long time before him and she was going WAY above the speed limit. He could never have been able to catch up. He was too much of a boy scout to speed. So how did he do it? It didn't matter, whatever he was hiding, she didn't care; she just wanted to get away from him. Seems he didn't feel the same way; he was hunched over, getting into her car. Once he sat down, she said angrily, "Get the fuck out of my car, Kent. I really don't want to talk to you- ever!"  
  
Clark looked really hurt, but she didn't care; he obviously had no regard for her feelings, so why should she have any for his? Clark just wasn't giving up, though. "But Chloe, I can explain!"  
  
"I don't give a damn. GET OUT!" She practically screamed. The bewildered boy simply nodded weakly and got out of the car slowly. Before he had even completely shut the door, she slammed down on the gas and was gone, leaving nothing but dust behind. Tears filled the boy's eyes, and milliseconds later he too was gone in a cloud of dust. ***** Please Please Please review!!!! I'm at your mercy. Just tell me what you think of it so far and if I should continue. 


	6. Monday Morning Blues

Author's Note: In case you haven't realized it, I changed the last chapter (only the last few paragraphs of it). I didn't like how it went with the rest of the story and I'm the author, so I can. (Fade out on evil laughter)  
  
Has anyone ever told you how much Monday mornings suck? Well if they haven't, let me: they really suck. They raise the bar for sucking. There's not much that can top Monday mornings when it comes to the category of sucking; except for maybe Algebra. I know, I know, I'm rambling, but I just wanted to make sure you understood how much Mondays suck.  
  
It also doesn't help that I'm really pissed at my best friend -who apparently comes from another planet- that I just happen to be madly in love with. He probably doesn't even care that I'm not talking to him, or for that matter even noticed, that I haven't even uttered a single syllable to him since Thursday night and with me, that's highly atypical; if I haven't talked for about five minutes, people usually start taking my temperature, checking to see if I'm ill. Sure, he's called about five times since then, but thanks to the handy invention known as caller ID, I still haven't had to talk to him; I simply turn the ringer off and pretend that he's not calling. It's easier that way. I just really don't feel up to dealing with him yet.  
  
Right now it's approximately 4:37 in the morning. Monday morning. I can already tell that this day is going to shape up to be horrible. Maybe dad will buy my sick act? Not likely, considering he hasn't fallen for it the -say- eight times I've already tried.  
  
I just don't get why Clark thought he couldn't trust me. We have been friends since my first day in this tiny little farm town and haven't split since. He and Pete are all I have. And they betrayed me.  
  
*****  
  
I am such an idiot. Why'd I do that? Why didn't I just tell her the truth? It would have been way less complicated and I wouldn't be up at four in the morning praying that my best friend won't still hate my guts when I have to face her at school the next day. This is highly unlikely, unless God Himself decides to perform a miracle that suddenly makes her forgive me, and even then it may not work. Chloe's forgiven me every time I've ever screwed up, which has been often, but I doubt she'll be so forgiving this time, I showed her that I have no faith in her at all. Let me reiterate, I am a total and complete idiot. She has every right to be mad at me.  
  
*****  
  
I have no clue what went down between Clark and Chloe, but it was bad. They haven't spoken to each other -not even one syllable- since Friday morning. And, as usual, I'm caught in the middle. I keep begging the both of them to tell me what happened but neither will talk.  
  
It's ridiculous what lengths Chloe's going through just to avoid him. Chloe spends every last bit of her free time in the Torch room and won't even acknowledge Clark's presence when he does somehow manage to get in the same room as her. When he tries to explain himself, or at the very least utter an apology of sorts, she shuts him down and tells him to shove it. She's really pissed.  
  
I think whatever they're fighting about has to do with Clark's Secret because, though she'll actually talk to me, Chloe has been avoiding me too and shooting me the same death stares Clark has been the lucky recipient of. I really hope those two work it all out soon.  
  
*****  
  
I got to school late this morning, pulled my beetle into the spot reserved for the editor of the Torch (It's one of the job's little perks.) and dawdled into school. I could tell right away that this was going to be one long day. I sauntered down to my locker, number four eighty six, and put in my combination. The locker wouldn't budge. I tried it again but it still wouldn't give. I put the combo in again, more slowly this time to lessen the chance of erring, but still no luck.  
  
Who else should be strolling by but our resident superhero. I swear, it's like he's got damsel in distress radar or something. He's looking at me with a slightly amused expression on his face, his green eyes are sparkling, he must have watched the whole thing. He inches tentatively towards me, as though I might bite -then again, with the way he had treated me, he shouldn't be shocked if I were to bite him; a girl needs revenge. And then he taps the locker lightly with two fingers and the stupid thing flies right open. Damn Clark. Why does he always have to be so damn helpful and perfect? It makes it harder to hate him.  
  
Nevertheless, I kept my resolve up and just went to putting my things in my now open locker -without ever uttering even a single word of thanks. Clark walks away with his head hanging slightly and the sparkle in his eye dimmed. But I get right back to retrieving my books. Then I notice something out of the corner of my eye. Flowers. Yellow daises, my favorite, freshly picked. And a card. Must be from Clark, I surmised. His pathetic attempt at an apology. I picked up the card and read it quietly to myself.  
  
"Chloe, I can't help but notice that the twinkle in your eye is gone. Did I do that? If I did, I'm really sorry. I never meant to hurt you, I never do. But more and more recently, I have done just that, without even being aware of what I've done. I know I hurt you when I left you at the formal, even if you covered it up with a smile and a witty comment. I want to apologize for every time I've ever done you wrong, even and especially, when it was unintentional. I can be so dense sometimes -as you and Pete are always so apt to point out- and I won't realize that what I'm doing is hurting you. I'm very sorry for lying to you, I meant to protect you from bearing a burden no one should have to take on but instead I caused you more pain. I understand if you never want to speak or look at me ever again, but I want you to know this; I love you. I'm sorry for any hurt my misguided attempts at protecting you has produced and I take all the blame. I'm a jerk."  
  
It was signed simply "Clark". I felt tears sting my eyes and I hurried into the Torch, flowers and card in tow. I didn't care if I missed class or got a detention. Right then, I just had to figure out what this meant and how I feel.  
***** She gasped as she entered the door to her sanctuary, the Torch. The entire room was filled, head to toe, with yellow daises. Clark really went above and beyond this time.  
  
*****  
  
I'm not sure if my plan worked or not. She got the card and her response was the beginnings of tears. My problem is that I don't know whether they were good, I'm going to forgive him tears or bad, I can't believe he's such a jerk tears. I really wish I could buy a clue when it comes to these kinds of things. Whether or not it had the response I have been hoping desperately for, it did elicit a positive effect; it got her to go into the Torch room and see the surprise I had left waiting for her there.  
  
I wonder if she even remembers the significance of those flowers. I hope she does, it would make them so much better.  
  
Chloe and I did go on a date once, before, in eighth grade. From the first day that I had seen her I had known that I would love her forever. And then, when she had kissed me in the barn, I got up the nerve to do what I had been wanting to from the instant I had laid eyes on her. She was nestled in my arms, watching the sun set with me from the loft, and I asked her. "Would you want to go out, with me, this weekend? We could see a movie or have dinner or something." Unfortunately for me, I'm still not much smoother than that when it comes to asking a girl out.  
  
She looked up at me and smiled. "I'd love to." She replied, beaming.  
  
I arrived at her doorstep that Saturday night with a bouquet of yellow daises -picked fresh from the Kent garden- in my arms waiting for her. She smiled brightly at me and told me that they were now her favorite flower. I never forgot.  
  
My mom drove us to the local mall. (It was the closest to an urban activity I could think of in this little farm town.) We wandered aimlessly around it and had dinner at a greasy little chicken place. It was the best time I had ever had. But then I screwed it up. That was the first time I had let her down. The first time I had hurt her. And unfortunately it wouldn't be the last.  
  
She forgave me eventually, with a lot of begging and pleading. But it took her a little while. After all, I had betrayed her. I was so stupid. If I could now, I would take it all back.  
  
The two of us were sitting in the restaurant, waiting for our orders to come, when Lana walked over, looking every bit as beautiful as she always did. She eyed the two of us curiously and asked, "Aren't you the new girl?" Chloe nodded and introduced herself. Then Lana asked her second question, the one that would lead to the demise of my romantic relationship with Chloe. "So, are you two out on a date?"  
  
Before Chloe could reply with a yes, -I had, after all, officially asked her out, why shouldn't she? - I answered with a "We're friends." I could see the tears begin to brim in her eyes and immediately regretted it. But it was too late to take it back.  
  
The ride home was chilly and silent and she refused to answer my calls, very much like how she's acting now, and the following Monday she said angrily to me when I asked her if we could give it another try, "We're just friends, remember?" We haven't spoken of that little incident since and never gave it another try until the formal which I also screwed up because of Lana. What a vicious cycle.  
  
*******  
  
Sorry it's been so long since I've updated, I've had so many things going on; softball, a class trip to Boston, an evil boyfriend, make that EX- boyfriend, trying desperately to finish my articles for the school paper before the deadline is up, and preparing for a formal at my school this Saturday. Please review and tell me what you think of the story so far and if you want me to continue it. If I don't get feedback, how will I know how badly you think this story sucks? Love you guys,  
Kelly 


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